The Madison’s Mad in Plaid Party
Mad About Plaid

Vida restaurant was a sea of blonde hair and plaid gladrags at the Madison club’s second annual Mad in Plaid party on February 25. The twenty-something crowd of 400 danced to a DJ spinning top-40 hits. Founded in 2003, the Madison requires its members to be unmarried college-educated women under age 30. Its name honors first lady Dolley Madison, who is described by the group as “the nation’s premier hostess.” The club got some bad publicity last year when a reporter from The Hill described the group as “trophy wives” and “Blond Republican Southern women who hearken back to a pre-Roe-v.-Wade, pre-19th Amendment America.” Despite the notoriety, the ladies of the Madison continue to hold yearly fundraisers and seek new members.

Cari McMarr, Jeff Steiner, Gretchen Wilhelm, Steve Frank, Christopher Philbrook and Dustee Tucker

Mary Beth Metry and Courtney Cox

The Ladies of the Madison

Bryan Langley and Gwen Mannweiler

Photos by Douglas Sonders